Variable air volume time modulated floor terminal

ABSTRACT

A floor terminal for positioning in a passageway in a raised floor system having conditioned air. The floor terminal includes an air delivery system, a damper coupled to the air delivery system, and a grate assembly coupled to the air delivery system. The air delivery system includes a pair of sidewalls, a back, a bottom, a bracket and a baffle, wherein the baffle is selectively coupled between the pair of sidewalls. The damper is selectively coupled to the air delivery system. The damper includes a vane positioned between a frame and a motor in a housing, wherein the motor moves the vane between a first position and a second position to selectively vary the flow of air through the damper. The grate assembly fits within the bracket to couple the grate assembly with the air delivery system to mount the air delivery system and the damper within the passageway and to position the air delivery system within the hole in the floor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 10/606,085, filed Jun. 25, 2003, entitled “Method And Apparatus For Delivering Conditioned Air Using Pulse Modulation”, which itself is a divisional of prior U.S. application Ser. No. 10/150,266, filed May 17, 2002, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Delivering Conditioned Air Using Pulse Modulation”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,866.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to a variable air volume floor terminal and more particularly to a floor terminal for use in a raised floor system.

There are a number of ways to heat and air condition spaces within buildings. In many office buildings heating and air conditioning is achieved through ducts in the ceilings of the buildings. However, because the cooling air is introduced from above, it forces some of the warmer air in the ceiling downward, resulting in cooling inefficiencies and a reduction in ventilation effectiveness. Ceiling-based systems also are often expensive to install, service, or modify, since all of the required ducting, and terminals, among other things, are located in the ceilings.

Alternatively, in many office buildings heating and air conditioning is achieved through ducts and plenums in the floors of the buildings. Typical floor terminals used with raised floor systems in the industry are placed in an air passageway in the floor. The opening of the floor terminal is sized in accordance with the opening in the floor. The floor terminal generally contains a mechanically driven damper and an air delivery assembly. However, when the damper and the air delivery assembly are assembled before installation they do not fit within the hole in the floor from above. This requires the user to have access to the terminal both above and below the floor for installation. Specifically, the user must have access to the plenum of the raised floor system to install the assembled floor terminal.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to manufacture a floor terminal that may be used in a raised floor system. Further, it would be desirable to manufacture a floor terminal that may be installed without the need for access below the floor. Thus, while floor terminals are known, there remains a need for an improved floor terminal that has the ability to be installed with access only to the portion above the floor.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Accordingly, an improved floor terminal is provided that is mountable in an air passageway beneath a floor. The floor terminal is used in applications where a plenum exists in a subspace beneath the floor. Conditioned air is provided in the subspace or air passage and the floor terminal selectively controls the amount of air emitted. The floor terminal includes a damper and an air delivery assembly. The damper includes a frame, a pair of rotatable hubs, a housing, and a vane. The hubs are coupled to the frame and housing with the vane being mounted therebetween. A stepper motor is contained in the housing and coupled with the vane. Movement of the vane by a stepper motor allows the air output to be selectively controlled. The damper is coupled to the air delivery assembly.

The air delivery assembly includes a bottom, a back, left and right sides, a bracket and a baffle. The back depends upwardly from a rear portion of the bottom. The left and right sides may be mirror images of one another and are coupled to the bottom and the back. The baffle is coupled between the left and right sides. The bracket is U-shaped and contains a front flange, a pair of side members, and a rear member. The rear member of the bracket is coupled with the back while the side members of the bracket are coupled with the left and right sides. The side members and the rear member are formed from a single piece of sheet metal. The front flange is coupled with the frame of the damper. Thus, once the damper and air delivery system are assembled, the walls of the bracket along with the front flange cooperate to form an opening suitable for attachment to the opening in the floor.

The floor terminal also includes a grate assembly. The grate assembly is generally rectangular (though it can be other shapes, such as round, in alternate embodiments) and includes a mounting portion or trim ring and a pair of grates. The mounting portion is used to mount the assembled damper and air delivery system within a hole in the floor. The mounting of the floor terminal can be accomplished without the need for access below the floor.

Additional advantages, and novel features of the invention, will be set forth in part in a description which follows and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification and which are to be read in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a floor terminal with a damper having a vane in the closed position and an air delivery system;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the floor terminal of FIG. 1 with the vane in the open position and having a grate assembly attached to the air delivery system;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a floor terminal with a damper having a vane in the closed position, an air delivery system, and a duct;

FIG. 4 is a side-elevation, cross-sectional view of the floor terminal of FIG. 2 taken along the line 44 showing the floor terminal installed in the floor;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the terminal of FIG. 2 with the grates removed; and

FIG. 6 is a partial, enlarged view of the area 6 of FIG. 4 showing the connection between the air delivery system and the damper.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings in greater detail and to FIG. 1, a floor terminal for use in a raised floor system is shown and is designated generally by the numeral 10. The floor terminal 10 includes a damper 12 and an air delivery assembly 14. All of the pieces of the floor terminal 10 shown in FIG. 1 are generally formed from sheet metal.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 4, the damper 12 will be discussed. FIG. 2 shows a completely assembled floor terminal 10, while FIG. 4 shows the floor terminal 10 installed in an opening and a passageway in a raised floor system 15. The damper 12 includes a frame 16, a pair of hubs 18 (not visible), 20, and a vane 22. The frame 16 includes a top wall 24, a sidewall 26, a bottom wall 28, and a housing 30. The top, side, and bottom walls 24, 26, 28 of the frame 16 are integrally connected. However, it should be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the walls 24, 26, 28 may be separate pieces attached together by any suitable means. The top wall 24 of the frame 16 contains a pair of upwardly depending flanges 32, the sidewall 26 of the frame 16 contains a pair of outwardly depending flanges 34, and the bottom wall 28 of the frame 16 contains a pair of downwardly depending flanges 36. The sidewall 26 contains a centrally located aperture 38 (not shown), the purpose of which will be further discussed below. The housing 30 is coupled to the top and bottom walls 24, 28 of the frame 16 at a location opposite the sidewall 26 of the frame 16.

The housing 30 contains a cover 40 and houses a motor 42 (not shown), having an output shaft 44 (not shown), that protrudes from an aperture 46 (not shown) located in the housing 30. The motor 42, while not shown, is a stepper motor that uses magnetic attraction to move the vane 22 from the open position of FIG. 2 to the closed position of FIG. 1. The aperture 38 in the sidewall 26 of the frame 16 and the aperture in the sidewall of the housing 30 align and the pair of hubs 18, 20 are coupled therewith.

The motor 42, along with the damper 12, are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/606,085 which is herein incorporated by reference. As discussed therein, a control system for the damper receives input signals from a thermostat or other sensor in the room. Based on the signals received, the control system provides control signals to the motor 42 which operates the damper 12. The control system may provide an “open” signal or a “close” signal to the motor 42. When an open signal is provided, the motor 42 is activated to rotate the vane 22 of the damper 12 to the open position, and the damper 12 remains in that position until a close signal is provided, wherein, the motor 42 rotates the vane 22 of the damper 12 to the closed position.

The control of the damper 12 involves assigning the damper 12 a duty cycle having a fairly short duration, normally under two minutes and often amounting only to seconds. During each duty cycle, the damper 12 is maintained open (or “on”) for a time period that is dependent upon a set point temperature and the actual temperature in the room or space. During the remainder of each duty cycle, the damper 12 is maintained closed (or “off”). The duration of each “open” or “on” time period is adjusted in order to maintain the set point temperature.

The vane 22 is connected with the housing 30 and the frame 16 by the pair of hubs 18, 20. The vane 22 is a generally rectangular piece of metal that extends between the sidewall 26 of the frame 16 and the housing 30. The details of the hubs 18, 20 are described but not shown. The hubs 18, 20 each contain a channel 48 that receives a portion of the vane 22. The hubs 18, 20 also each contain an aperture 50. The aperture of one hub 18 receives the output shaft 44 of the motor 42 while the aperture of the other hub 20 receives a rod 52 that is rotatably coupled with the aperture 38 of the sidewall 26. This allows the vane 22 to be rotated relative to the frame 16 between open and closed positions by activation of the motor 42 (not shown). FIG. 1 shows the floor terminal 10 with the vane 22 of the damper 12 in the closed position while FIG. 2 shows the floor terminal 10 with the vane 22 of the damper 12 in the open position.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the air delivery assembly 14 will be discussed. The air delivery assembly 14 contains a bottom 54, a back 56, right and left sides 58, 60, a bracket 62, and a baffle 64. The back 56 depends upwardly from a rear portion of the bottom 54. As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the bottom 54 includes an upwardly depending lip 66 at its front edge. The upwardly depending lip 66 is used to couple the air delivery assembly 14 with the damper 12. Specifically the downwardly depending flange 36 of the bottom wall 28 of the damper 12 mates with the upwardly depending lip 66.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the back 56 contains an upper edge 68 with an outwardly depending flange 70. The outwardly depending flange 70 contains a pair of apertures 71. The back 56 further contains a pair of tabs 72. The right and left sides 58, 60 are mirror images of one another. The right and left sides 58, 60 are generally rectangular and include front, rear, and lower flanges 74, 76, 78 and an upper member 80. The front, rear, and lower flanges 74, 76, 78 depend outwardly. The upper member 80 depends inwardly and further contains an upwardly depending flange 82. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outwardly depending flanges 76, 78 at the rear and lower edges of the right and left sides 58, 60 are coupled with the bottom 54 and the back 56 by rivets 84. It should be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that any suitable coupling method may be used As shown in FIG. 5, the right and left sides 58, 60 contain several sets of apertures 86. The apertures 86 are used to mount the baffle 64 therebetween. The baffle 64 may be mounted to either set of apertures 86 to vary the flow of air.

The bracket 62 contains a front flange 88, a pair of side members 90, 92, and a rear member 94. The side members 90, 92 and the rear member 94 are formed from a single piece of sheet metal. Each of the side members 90, 92 and rear member 94 contain a wall 96, 98, 100 and a depending flange 102, 104, 106. The flanges 102, 104 on the side members 90, 92 depend outwardly while the flange 106 on the rear member 94 depends inwardly. The flange 106 on the rear member 94 contains a pair of apertures 107. As seen in FIG. 4, when assembled, the rear flange 106 of the bracket 62 fits under the outwardly depending flange 70 on the back 56. The apertures 71 align with apertures 107. Further, as seen in FIG. 1, the walls 96, 98 of side members 90, 92 mate with the upwardly depending flanges 82 of the right and left sides 58, 60 and are located outwardly therefrom.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front flange 88 includes a lip 108 and an upwardly depending wall 110. The upwardly depending wall 110 of the front flange 88 is coupled to the rear upwardly depending flange 32 of the top wall 24 of the frame 16 by rivets 112, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, it should be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that any suitable coupling method may be used. The lip 108 contains a pair of ends each having first and second apertures 114, 116. The first set of apertures 114 are used when coupling the damper 12 to the air delivery assembly 14 during assembly, as will be discussed further below. The second set of apertures 116 are located inwardly from the first apertures 114 on the lip 108. The second apertures 116 are used to attach a grate assembly 118, as will be discussed further below.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the floor terminal 10 also includes the grate assembly 118. The grate assembly 118 is generally rectangular and is constructed from die-cast aluminum. It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any suitable material may be used. The grate assembly 118 includes a mounting portion 120 and at least one grate plate 122. The mounting portion 120 is a generally rectangular frame that includes interconnected sidewalls 124, a lower flange 126, and an upper flange 128. The sidewalls 124 form a rectangular housing having four corners. The upper flange 128 depends outwardly from the sidewalls 124 and serves to mount the air delivery assembly 14 within the hole in the floor 15, as will be further discussed below. The lower flange 126 depends inwardly from the sidewalls 124 and contains an aperture 130 proximate each corner. The apertures 130 are used to mount the grate assembly 118 to the front flange 88 and bracket 62 via screws 132 to position the floor terminal 10 within the floor. The grate plates 122, shown in FIG. 2, fit within the sidewalls 124 and rest on the lower flange 126. The grate plates 122 contain a plurality of slotted sections 132 that are used to direct the flow of air from the air delivery assembly 14.

FIG. 3 shows an alternate embodiment of a floor terminal 134. The floor terminal 134 of FIG. 3 is the same as the floor terminal 10 with the exception that it contains a hole 136 in a left sidewall 140 with a duct 142 attached thereto. The duct 142 allows the floor terminal 134 to be attached to a heating system, not shown, so that either conditioned air or heat may be emitted from the terminal 134. The remainder of the components of the terminal 134 are the same as the terminal 10.

The assembly and operation of the floor terminal 10 will now be discussed. As stated above, to assemble the air delivery assembly, the right and left sides 58, 60 are attached to the back 56 and bottom 54 by rivets 84. Further, the upwardly depending wall 110 of the front flange 88 is coupled to the flange 32 of the top wall 24 of the frame 16 by rivets 112. The rear flange 106 of the bracket 62 is then placed under the outwardly depending flange 70 of the back 56. The flanges 102, 104 of the side members 90, 92 of the bracket 62 rest on the upper member 80 of the right and left sides 58, 60. The side members 90, 92 of the bracket 62 are positioned outwardly of the upwardly depending flanges 82 of the right and left sides 58, 60. The air delivery assembly 14 is now assembled and is ready to be combined with the damper 12. The damper 12 and air delivery assembly 14 are then separately placed within the hole in the floor 15. To attach the damper 12 to the air delivery assembly 14, the downwardly depending flange 36 of the bottom wall 28 of the damper 12 is placed on the inner surface of the upwardly depending lip 66 of the bottom 54. Screws 134 are then placed in the first set of apertures 114 and apertures on the flange 102, 104 to affix the damper 12 to the air delivery assembly 14.

Once the damper 12 is affixed to the air delivery assembly 14, the floor terminal 10 is ready for mounting within the hole in the floor 15. The grate assembly 118 is used to mount the floor damper 12 within the hole in the floor 15. Specifically, the second set of apertures 116 located on the front flange 88 and the apertures 71 on the outwardly depending flange 70 on the back 56 are aligned with the apertures 130 located in the corners of the mounting portion 120. It should be understood that the sidewalls 124 of the mounting portion 120 are oriented and sized to fit within the opening in the assembled bracket 62. The screws 132 are then placed in the apertures 130 and are tightened to raise the air delivery system 14 within the hole in the floor. The upper flange 128 serves to maintain the air delivery system 14 in place within the hole in the floor.

The present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments, which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its scope. It will be seen from the foregoing that this invention is one well adapted to attain the ends and objects set forth above and to attain other advantages, which are obvious and inherent in the device. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and within the scope of the claims. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting. 

1. A floor terminal for positioning in a passageway in a raised floor system having conditioned air, the floor terminal being sized for positioning within a hole in the floor, the floor terminal including: an air delivery system having a pair of sidewalls, a back, a bottom, a bracket and a baffle, the baffle being coupled between the pair of sidewalls; a damper coupled to the air delivery system, the damper having a frame with a housing, the housing containing a motor, and a vane coupled between the frame and the housing, wherein the motor is coupled with the vane to move the vane between a first position and a second position to selectively vary the flow of air; and a grate assembly having a mounting portion and at least one grate plate, the mounting portion having a sidewall, an inwardly depending flange, and an outwardly depending flange, wherein the sidewalls of grate assembly fit within the bracket of the air delivery system to permit coupling of the grate assembly with the air delivery system to mount the air delivery system and the damper within the passageway and to position the air delivery system within the hole in the floor.
 2. The floor terminal of claim 1, wherein the damper is coupled with the air delivery system after the damper and the air delivery system are placed within the passageway in the raised floor.
 3. The floor terminal of claim 2, wherein the grate assembly is coupled with the air delivery system after the damper is coupled with the air delivery system within the passageway of the raised floor system to mount the air delivery system within the hole in the floor.
 4. The floor terminal of claim 3, wherein the motor is a stepper motor.
 5. The floor terminal of claim 4, wherein the stepper motor selectively moves the vane from the first position to the second position via magnetic attraction.
 6. The floor terminal of claim 5, wherein the vane is closed in the first position and wherein the vane is open in the second position.
 7. The floor terminal of claim 6, wherein the bracket includes a front flange, a pair of side members, and a rear member, the front flange being coupled to the frame of the damper.
 8. The floor terminal of claim 7, wherein the bottom includes a front edge with a lip, the lip being coupled with the frame of the damper.
 9. The floor terminal of claim 8, wherein the baffle is selectively movable within the air delivery system to control the flow of air.
 10. The floor terminal of claim 9, wherein the at least one grate plate includes a plurality of slotted sections.
 11. A floor terminal for positioning in a passageway in a raised floor system having conditioned air, the floor terminal being sized for positioning within a hole in the floor, the floor terminal including: an air delivery system having a pair of sidewalls, a back, a bottom, a bracket and a baffle, the baffle being coupled between the pair of sidewalls; wherein one of the pair of sidewalls contains a hole with a duct coupled thereto; a damper coupled to the air delivery system, the damper having a frame with a housing, the housing containing a motor, and a vane coupled between the frame and the housing, wherein the motor is coupled with the vane to move the vane between a first position and a second position to selectively vary the flow of air; a grate assembly having a mounting portion and at least one grate plate, the mounting portion having a sidewall, an inwardly depending flange and an outwardly depending flange, wherein the sidewalls of grate assembly fit within the bracket of the air delivery system to permit coupling of the grate assembly with the air delivery system to mount the air delivery system and damper within the passageway and position the air delivery system within the hole in the floor.
 12. The floor terminal of claim 11, wherein the damper is coupled with the air delivery system after the damper and the air delivery system are placed within the passageway in the raised floor.
 13. The floor terminal of claim 12, wherein the grate assembly is coupled with the air delivery system after the damper is coupled with the air delivery system within the passageway of the raised floor system to mount the air delivery system within the hole in the floor.
 14. The floor terminal of claim 13, wherein the motor is a stepper motor.
 15. The floor terminal of claim 14, wherein the stepper motor selectively moves the vane from the first position to the second position via magnetic attraction.
 16. The floor terminal of claim 15, wherein the vane is closed in the first position and wherein the vane is open in the second position.
 17. The floor terminal of claim 16, wherein the bracket includes a front flange, a pair of side members, and a rear member, the front flange being coupled to the frame of the damper.
 18. The floor terminal of claim 17, wherein the bottom includes a front edge with a lip, the lip being coupled with frame of the damper.
 19. The floor terminal of claim 18, wherein the baffle is selectively movable within the air delivery system to control the flow of air.
 20. The floor terminal of claim 19, wherein the at least one grate plate includes a plurality of slotted sections.
 21. A method for delivering conditioned air to a room having a space located below a floor underlying the room, the method comprising the steps of: enclosing an area under the floor to create a supply plenum; providing a floor terminal having an air delivery system, a damper coupled to the air delivery system, and a control system; and supplying conditioned air to the supply plenum for delivery to the room above the floor terminal through the air delivery system; wherein the vane of the damper of the floor terminal has a first position, where the conditioned air is applied to the space, and a second position, where the flow of air to the space is blocked, and wherein the control system selectively effects the movement of the vane of the damper from the first position to the second position.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the control system includes a stepper motor.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the stepper motor selectively moves the vane of the damper from the first position to the second position via magnetic attraction.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the a magnetic attraction is created by flowing a current though a pair of windings. 